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SOTA c33s01
Text The train roared along the tracks, giving the ponies from Looking Glass World uneasy memories of how their journey in the last layer to Appleloosa had gone. Whatever was happening up north sounded like it was similar... but at least this time, they were better prepared for whatever the hell was waiting for them in this so-called Crystal Kingdom. Or at least, they hoped they were. Scrivener Blooms shook his head slowly, then he smiled faintly as he looked over at Luna Brynhild, who was resting on the small bed of the cabin beside him, her head lowered and eyes closed, but nowhere near asleep. The curtains were drawn, and it was deep night outside, and the only light came from Twilight's dimly-glowing horn as she sat back in the tiny chair on the other side of the cramped room, several books piled up on the flimsy fold-out table beside her. It buckled with every bump in the tracks, and Scrivener kept expecting it to give out under the heavy tomes at any moment. Twilight looked up and met his eyes, and Luna invited quietly: “Come, we have many hours of travel yet. Put down the musty books for now, curl up with us. I am cold and lonely.” “Maybe that's because you're both still in armor... although I am glad that you at least stored your weapons back in the luggage car, Luna.” Twilight hesitated, then she reached up and touched her own gemstone vest, which was hidden beneath the folds of her cloak. “Then again...” “Aye. The further north we go, the more I expect something to happen.” Luna murmured, looking slowly up, and Twilight sighed softly before the sapphire mare smiled a little. “'Tis funny, though. I believe Celestia... Freya, rather... retired to her own room. Spike is staying with Discombobulation, and the Princesses each have their own cabins, too... and of course, the guards are all crammed together in their own car. I do not know why Princess Celestia insisted on bringing soldiers... well, apart from the fact she clearly does not trust us.” “Funny, though. Celestia outside of Canterlot and her royal duties, even bringing Princess Luna along, even though she's...” Twilight halted, but Luna Brynhild only grunted in agreement, nodding slowly and crossing her forelegs moodily. “What do you think it means?” “Well, 'tis very clear from the conversations we have had and what we have seen that Celestia would not do anything to put... Quiet Luna in danger.” Luna Brynhild halted, then added in a softer voice: “And thou saw her.” Twilight closed her eyes and nodded slowly: back at Canterlot, she, Freya, Luna, Scrivener, and Princess Celestia had all shared in a long discussion, while Discord had led Spike and Discombobulation off and Princess Luna had returned to her chambers for 'much needed rest.' During the talk, in Celestia's throne room but with the guards placed outside the closed doors for privacy, Princess Celestia had removed her cape, and revealed that she was missing one wing, while the other that remained was badly mangled. She had explained this curtly as the cost of stopping Chrysalis, and Twilight shivered a little. She knew what Celestia had done: she had studied all manner of necromancy to better understand her own state of being as a Lich, after all. Magic drew on reserves of energy... usually spiritual strength, and the mind naturally limited the magic output of a person based on their stamina, so they couldn't injure themselves seriously while using a spell. But if you were willing to pay a heavier price in flesh and blood, you could drastically increase your own reserve of magic power, if only for a short time... and apparently, Princess Celestia had been more than willing to pay that toll to defeat Chrysalis, after the Changeling Queen had beaten back Celestia and turned her eyes on vulnerable, scared Luna. It had apparently taken Chrysalis many months to drag herself back to Equestria from wherever Celestia had blasted her, and without their Queen, the Changelings had dispersed in terror and confusion. Now, Equestria was on more even footing with the creatures: they knew what they were dealing with, had developed ways to detect their presence and magic, and they weren't considered nearly as dangerous a threat as this shadow-beast named Sombra. Twilight shook her head slowly: they'd deal with things as they came, like they always did, after all. And then the Lich looked back down at the book, saying quietly: “I'm getting the feeling everything I've read about so far is... tainted, I guess, for the lack of a better word. It seems like a lot of supposition and second-hoof accounts taken from ponies who all know each other. But if this kingdom magnifies emotions or emotional energy or something...” “Aye, can thou imagine the applications? We could keep all of Subterra fed with ease. Perhaps even larger demon settlements.” Luna Brynhild smiled slightly, then she drew her eyes towards Twilight, asking curiously: “I am sorely interested in how the process is accomplished. I imagine Freya is, too, but she is far too tactful to ask and probably only waiting for me to make an idiot of myself doing so, in order to scold me later.” Twilight smiled a little despite herself, and then she said finally: “I don't know. I just see a lot of things about how it's... a blessed place, a sacred Kingdom, etcetera etcetera. Look, how about I ask Princess Celestia, okay? Or maybe we can wait and speak to... she said Princess Cadence is watching over the Crystal Kingdom, right? I'm sure they'll be happy to help. It's not like you want to take it over, you just want to understand why it works.” “Yes, to feed my dark and terrible forces of the night. Every Princess Celestia we've met thus far has been less than receptive to learning I am the Mistress of countless demons and monsters and icky things like Scrivener. Terrible, terrible monster that he is.” Luna nudged the stallion a few times lightly, and Scrivener grunted and pushed back at her before the two slapped at each other childishly a few times, and Twilight sighed softly. Then they hit a particularly-large bump, and the small table finally snapped under the weight of the books, sending them spilling to the ground before violet mare grumbled under her breath as she snapped her current tome closed. But after a moment, she stood and picked the fallen texts up with telekinesis, tossing them and the book in her front hoof into the chair before striding across the room and crawling up into bed. She rolled onto her back, their armor clanking quietly as she settled into place beside Scrivener Blooms, and there was quiet for a few moments as they laid side-by-side-by-side before the violet mare said finally: “I hate this. I hate that this feels natural to me now. Not so much our... weirdness... I'm used to that by now, I mean the fact we're laying here in armor, on a train ride to a place we don't know, picking a fight with... Clockwork Ponies. I hate that of all the things in the universe, that is beginning to feel like my natural state of being.” “We could take off our armor, then...” Luna grinned widely, tickling a hoof up Twilight's front, but the Lich only huffed and slapped it lightly away, making the sapphire mare grumble. “Oh, thou art no fun. And well, Twilight... thou art free to blame us for that if thou likes. Since for Scrivener and I, running into danger has long become second nature, and thou does feel what we feel.” “Yeah. Luna and I are both pretty sure that any stupid things you do, we're the ones who cause that.” Scrivener agreed after a moment, and the Lich sighed tiredly but nodded moodily in agreement herself all the same, and there was quiet for a few moments before the charcoal stallion added quietly, as he looked up at the ceiling: “But you know. I guess that's not necessarily a bad thing, either. We've all... helped each other grow and change, haven't we?” Twilight smiled a little, then she reached her forelegs up, and Scrivener and Luna smiled as either limb wrapped around their shoulders. They slipped their own around the violet mare's, and reached their free hooves out without looking, silently interlocking them and letting them rest against Twilight's stomach as she closed her eyes and murmured: “We have. And I wouldn't ever want to change that, I think... I'm glad we can do everything that we do for each other. I'm glad we're there for each other, in every possible way. And I'm honored to be... who I am to you. I just... is the price we pay for all the good... all this constant pain and fighting and heartache?” “I dunno. I hope not.” Scrivener stopped, then smiled a little and closed his eyes before he murmured: “But you know what? Even if it is... it's a cheap price. Family, friends, belonging somewhere, and being able to stand up and help others. It makes it all worthwhile.” “Aye, it does. Being able to bend darkness to protect those that den in the light...” Luna smiled as well, nodding slowly as she murmured: “'Tis wonderful. Playing our necessary roles fulfills me, even if all the same... I cannot help but wish...” “Things would just calm the hell down for once now and then, yeah.” Scrivener finished, and Twilight and Luna both looked at him with amusement, and the stallion simply shrugged. “What can I say? I'm a poet and all that.” “Yes. Yes, thou certainly art. Great idiot.” Luna said amusedly, squeezing his hoof gently before she leaned down and kissed Twilight's cheek firmly, and the violet mare smiled warmly and closed her eyes before the sapphire mare paused and looked thoughtfully up at the ceiling. “I do wonder, though. Did thou notice how even with all my baiting, Princess Celestia refused to ever rise to the occasion? Why, I could swear that Freya was nearly ready to strike me down herself with all the nerves I was attempting to press at once, and all the secrets I kept teasing at spilling.” Scrivener grunted, and Twilight only gave the sapphire mare a mild look, Luna huffing loudly in response to them both before she grumbled and looked meditatively towards the ceiling. “I suppose I shall just have to work on becoming more frustrating in the future than I already am. 'Twill be a great task of course, aye. After all, I am extremely adorable, am I not? 'Tis why I can get away with anything.” The charcoal stallion only sighed, knowing better than to answer, and Twilight pointedly half-turned away from the mare to bury her face against Scrivener's neck, making Luna glower at them. As they both continued to ignore her, Luna grumbled moodily, then suddenly half-rolled into the two in a wild attack, both ponies wincing and flailing back at her uselessly before all three ponies fell off the bed with a loud crash and landed in a tangled heap. After only a few seconds of them laying in a half-stunned pile, there was a polite knock at the door before Celestia Freya pushed it open, and said calmly: “Not to interrupt, but Princess Celestia says that Princess Luna wants to... speak to you.” The ivory mare softened as she glanced down the hall, and the three ponies on the ground gave varying moody noises before Luna managed to crawl up to her hooves, Scrivener and Twilight pulling themselves up after a few moments as well. The sapphire mare gazed up at her older sister, nodding meditatively before she opened her mouth to ask how Princess Celestia could know anything Princess Luna wanted or was saying... before slowly closing her jaw as she saw the smile that spread over Freya's face, and she only grinned wryly and shook her head slowly. “Showoff.” Luna finally pronounced, and then she absently kicked her rear hoof backwards into Scrivener's skull several times, making him wince a little before he looked grouchily up as she said mildly: “Come, come, let us go. But a curiosity does rise to my mind: if a voiceless mare screams in delight, does she make any noise?” The stallion sighed tiredly, before Twilight answered dryly: “Maybe, Luna, but the mare who makes her scream gets to sleep on the couch for the next ten weeks.” “Thou art so damnably possessive.” Luna said disconsolately, and then she sighed and slumped before giving Celestia Freya a moody look when she reached up to cover her mouth with a slight smile. “Oh shut up, Celestia. At least I do not have to buy escorts to have my delights.” “I'm not Sleipnir, Luna.” the golden-armored mare replied easily, and then she paused and glanced over the three, adding quietly: “So you kept your gear on, too. Ease or instinct?” “Neither, my instincts tell me 'twould be fine to take it off, but... that growing malevolence in the air... the others must feel it, even the ponies of this layer must feel it.” Luna muttered, shaking her head slowly before she sighed quietly and strode out into the hallway, turning and calmly making her way toward the door that separated the cars. She pushed it open, then grimaced at the icy wind that immediately bit at her, her starry locks sizzling and twisting backwards as a breath of snow washed against her. They were already well into the north, it looked like... either that, or they were passing through an area suffering an early winter. She didn't know which she hoped for more: all she knew was that it seemed like even if the Pegasi of this world were responsible for the weather, from the snowy tundra she glimpsed as she leaned out between the train cars, she thought they had likely lost control of nature in this area. The mare grimaced to herself, shivering once before she flicked her horn to open the way into the passenger car ahead. It was full of large, comfy seats and tables, the similarity to the train car they had been in over much of the trip of Appleloosa startling. But then again, the worlds were all supposed to reflect each other... she guessed that even included some of the details. Princess Celestia was sitting in one of the seats ahead, while Princess Luna was bouncing up and down between the seats, again reminding Luna almost of a foal, and she softened a little despite herself. With how Princess Luna – or Quiet Luna, as she preferred to think of her – couldn't speak, it made it hard to judge how old her mental age really was... but every time Luna glimpsed her, she couldn't help but think that more than her magic had been damaged, more than her voice had been lost. The Elements hadn't just harmed her, but forced her mind to... regress. Or maybe the Elements had nothing to do with it. Maybe this was just Princess Luna's way of trying to protect herself from being hurt any further, and from coping with the fact she was clearly so heavily reliant on a big sister who maybe protected her a little too much. But Brynhild thought she was projecting her own emotions and thoughts onto the mare... except why not? We are supposed to be the same, are we not? Except... I am Brynhild, as much... perhaps more... than I am Luna. The Princess of the Night skidded around in a circle, then stiffened and straightened when she saw she was now being watched by four ponies. But after a moment of studying them, she suddenly hurried forwards... except Princess Celestia was quick to lean over and put out a foreleg, stopping her and quietly tugging her younger sister a little to the side as she leaned down to whisper in her ear, and Brynhild grinned despite herself: there was much that was different, oh yes, but that surly expression on Quiet Luna's face, on the other hoof... “Nay, fear not, Princess Celestia. Let Princess Luna come and see us, I am never one to mind a little play before or after business myself.” Luna Brynhild said kindly, but when Princess Celestia only gave her a scowl, the armored sapphire mare huffed and straightened, saying mildly: “Oh, very well then, be that way. Sour Celestia... I think that is what I shall call thee, yes. Thou art now Sour Celestia, as she is Quiet Luna.” “Quiet Luna.” Princess Celestia repeated moodily, but when Princess Luna only cocked her head curiously and smiled hesitantly, the rainbow maned mare sighed quietly and nodded slowly. “Let's just... move forwards, Brynhild, I think that would be for the best. My little sister... she said she want to show you something.” Princess Celestia's tone all but challenged Luna to dare to say something about Little Luna having 'said' anything, but the starry-maned mare only held up a front hoof in a calming gesture, and Princess Celestia hesitated, then sighed and finally sat back, letting go of Quiet Luna. The Princess of the Night looked inquisitively at her older sibling for a moment, but when the golden-caped mare only nodded, the strangely young-seeming winged unicorn bounced happily on her hooves and nodded vehemently several times in return before hurrying down the aisle to Brynhild. She skidded to a halt in front of her and stopped dead in her tracks for a moment, fidgeting and shifting shyly from hoof-to-hoof before reaching childishly upwards and pawing at her shoulder gently. Luna Brynhild gazed at her counterpart in silence, ignoring Princess Celestia's frown completely before the armored mare finally asked gently: “And what is it, Princess Luna? What would thou show me?” Princess Luna shifted embarrassedly, and then she looked up and smiled hesitantly after a moment before gesturing a few times with her head, and Luna Brynhild nodded calmly before following after the twinned mare. She studied Quiet Luna as they walked to the front of the car and faced several windows that still had their curtains open. The two looked out into the emptiness of the night together: all Luna Brynhild could see was plains of snow and a few dead trees here and there, over uneven, barren-seeming earth. The train rocked a little now and then as it rumbled over the raised trestles they were following, but after a moment of staring into darkness, Quiet Luna silently pointed up at the night sky above. Brynhild smiled after a moment at this, raising her own eyes to look at the velvety ceiling of darkness and the rhinestone stars that dotted it, murmuring softly: “Aye. I see it, Quiet Luna... art thou telling me to read the message hidden inside them? Or did thou simply want to share this sight with me, my friend?” Quiet Luna looked surprised at this, and then she smiled hesitantly before turning her eyes back upwards, looking silently into the darkness above before briskly shaking her head and then gritting her teeth, visibly concentrating. Brynhild frowned curiously as she looked at the mare, her eyes flicking up to note how... ghostly and weak the glow around her horn was, even as Quiet Luna visibly poured all her strength into her magic. Luna Brynhild looked out the windows and into the darkness, and she smiled faintly as high above, stars began to light up quietly one after the other, twinkling brightly in a slow, simple pattern before they gradually began to rearrange themselves, and after a moment, Luna Brynhild chuckled as she recognized the awkward circles that were forming, murmuring: “So thou did see that... and even weakened as thou art, thou can still move the lights in the sky. That is reassuring... but I suppose like me, all thou really has to do is ask, and the merciful stars are glad to move themselves, are they not?” Quiet Luna smiled, and then Luna Brynhild hesitated before she turned her own eyes upwards, concentrating as she murmured: “The stars in my world do not listen so easily. Let us see...” In the night sky, multiple stars began to glow brighter, then Brynhild grinned as she tilted her horn slightly and their colors slowly started to change, becoming a sharp blue instead of ivory white as they rearranged themselves into a new, larger shape, distinctly forming into the image of a running pony in the sky as she murmured: “My sister used to become so angry with me when I would play with the night sky whilst bored... she said 'twas like telling the entire world of my presence, challenging all the evils we used to fight in their own territory... but she always forgot, the night was my territory, too.” Quiet Luna smiled brightly over at Luna Brynhild, and then the armored mare finally stepped back and smiled slightly as she looked up at the constellation she had formed: with its differently-hued stars of blue, it clearly stood out against the dark night sky. She shook her head after a moment with a chuckle, then looked over her shoulder at Freya, who was smiling softly even as Princess Celestia looked a little less-than-pleased. “'Tis funny, the way the world turns, is it not?” Then Quiet Luna reached up and pawed gently at Luna Brynhild's shoulder, and the starry-maned mare looked down at her softly before Quiet Luna reached up with both front hooves and gestured firmly several times at her horn, before motioning at Brynhild's. The warrior mare frowned curiously, but Princess Celestia almost leapt out of her seat, hurrying over to her younger sibling's side and leaning down to murmur hurriedly: “Now what did I tell you about that little sister? Come on. Come on, let's go sit down...” Quiet Luna shifted uncomfortably, shrugging and trying to pull away from her older sister for a moment, but then she relented, even as Brynhild frowned suspiciously and Freya looked up with her own distinct unease. Twilight and Scrivener traded apprehensive looks, but after Princess Celestia got Quiet Luna to sit back down in her bench seat at the table, this world's Princess of the Sun sighed tiredly as her younger sibling gave her a trembling look. “Alright, alright, I... I can't stand when you're upset, little sister. My... my younger sibling wants to know if you have a ring like she does.” “And what precisely does this ring do? All that I am adorned with is this.” Luna reached up and calmly touched the black pearl that rested in the hollow of the ivy collar around her neck, the sapphire mare adding quietly: “And this is only my cherished Promise to my partners.” Princess Celestia was quiet, and then she sighed as Quiet Luna gestured violently at her horn with one hoof several times before the golden-caped mare nodded slowly. “Alright, I said I would explain it, didn't I?” She halted, then turned and said quietly: “My sister's ring is a... do you have inhibitor rings in your world, for foals?” “For unicorn foals who can't control their magic, yes.” Freya seemed to loosen up slightly, although Brynhild still looked moody and uneasy, something pricking at her instincts: she didn't think Princess Celestia was precisely lying to them, or even doing anything to hurt her sister. Yes, she was overprotective... but all things considered, that was more than understandable. “But she can still focus her magic...” “If she concentrates, yes. Her magic power is still greatly reduced, but it also works better for her like this... when she tries to concentrate her magic without using the ring, sometimes we have... accidents. My baby sister was just curious if you... if you had to wear a ring too.” Princess Celestia stopped, then looked across at her sibling, who was silently staring down at the books in front of her... and Brynhild realized after a moment they weren't magazines, but a foal's coloring books, with a set of crayons sitting on the table beside this. “But it's a good sign, sister, it is. It means that you'll be strong again one day, just like Luna Brynhild is now, okay?” Quiet Luna nodded silently, and then Brynhild hesitated before she smiled faintly and slipped forwards, quietly slipping into the seat beside the mare as Scrivener gazed at her softly. And as her horn glowed to pick up the box of crayons and the coloring book and slide them both in front of her, Scrivener remembered all the reasons he loved her so deeply, so dearly, as the mare said softly: “I am an artist too, I will have thee know. There are few things more splendid in the world...” Quiet Luna blushed a little as Luna opened the book and smiled, turning through the pages as she looked down at them curiously. For the most part, Quiet Luna had colored inside the lines, but here and there, she had gone outside them, adding swirls there, scrawling designs there. The sapphire mare smiled despite herself at this, then she shook her head slowly before picking up a crayon as she turned to a blank set of pages, murmuring: “I have always been much better at linework than at coloring, if thou must know the truth. But let us see what we can do, shall we?” Luna Brynhild started to color in an image of an earth pony, glancing up with a small smile at Scrivener, Twilight and Freya, and she blushed a little at the tender look she was getting from the two former ponies, while her older sister was shaking her head slowly but looking... proud, she thought. And beside her, Quiet Luna looked happy, honestly happy, as she quickly picked up a crayon before beginning to color one of the ponies on the page opposite in happily. Across from them, Princess Celestia looked at the two silently, reaching up to touch her own lips quietly as she swallowed thickly: she looked happy and almost self-loathing all at once, her amethyst eyes glimmering with both warmth and unshed tears as she looked across at them. So many conflicting emotions, in the Princess of the Sun, who had always loved and adored and watched out for her regressed baby sister... but never once simply sat down to play with her toys, or color beside her, always pushed her in the hopes that she would get better but never once tried to see things from her own little sister's eyes, experience the simple joys that were all Quiet Luna had left. And so Princess Celestia watched as the Valkyrie Brynhild, twinned mare to her little sister, calmly colored in the book beside her. She watched, to learn how to be a better sibling; and she watched, to feel happiness through her heartache at the sight of Princess Luna's happy smile. Top ↑